Kids

I had the distinct pleasure of indoctrinating… er, I mean introducing my kids (6 and 3) to the world of Ghostbusters on the weekend. Completely unintentional, mind you. I hadn’t meant on them watching it, but they wandered out when it started, saw the librarian ghost (thought she was fantastic) and sat and watched the whole thing.

Their favourite part? The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man of course. Once we’d finished the first one they saw the picture of the “Lady Ghostbusters” (as they’ve dubbed them) as we had to watch that too.

So over the weekend we’ve watched the original twice, the remake once, and a heap of the cartoon Ghostbusters on YouTube. Plus, today I’ve printed out a heap of colouring pages to keep them busy.

I always held out hope that one day my nerdier interests would influence their tastes. When my eldest was a baby and I’d be nursing her and watching Doctor Who, I used to tell my wife that we were enjoying our favourite show together.

Neither of my kids have so far shown an interest in the Doctor, but it seems as though I’m at least on the right track.

As for the Ghostbusters reboot (the Lady Ghostbusters according to my kids), I really enjoyed it. Had a heap of great moments that had me laughing out loud, and the whole sequence at the end when they’re sort of back in time was fantastic.

It’s a shame the mysogonerds had to go and ruin its chances (and the chances of any sequels) at the box office by spreading their hate before even stopping to consider that it might, in fact, be good for the franchise. So they’ve successfully robbed us of any chance of seeing more Ghostbusters any time soon.

Of course now the same thing is happening with the announcement of Jodie Whittaker as the next Doctor in Doctor Who. I’m sure the BBC will stick to their guns, and we’ll see a few seasons with Ms Whittaker at the helm of the TARDIS. I believe this will be the shot-in-the-arm the Doctor Who franchise needs to keep it going strong.

I’ve been a fan of the Doctor since I used to watch the original series as a kid, and again with the rebooted continuation. Since the (seemingly at the time) throwaway line during “The Doctor’s Wife” episode about the Corsair being a bad girl during some of his/her regenerations.

That planted the seed in my mind that one day we might see a Time Lady. Then following up with The Master / Missy regeneration, and the on-screen regeneration during Hell Bent, it seemed like an almost certainty.

Personally I can’t wait to see Ms Whittaker’s take on the Doctor. My personal preference for the role was admittedly Richard Ayoade, who I’d still like to see as the Doctor one day. But until then, I’m eager to see a Time Lady in the role. I think it’ll give a unique depth to the character we’ve not seen before, and I for one can’t wait.